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A review by books_with_benghis_kahn
Spoils of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
These short stories were strong from start to finish, and even though short stories really aren't my thing, reading through these never felt like a drag. Most of them dealt with pretty dark themes surrounding war, and they often had emotional poignance that caught me by surprise.
This is really only for veteran readers of Shadows of the Apt due to all the worldbuilding that wouldn't make sense to readers coming to this first before any of the novels, even though all the stories are set chronologically before the start of the series. It's best read as a companion book to bk 7 Heirs of the Blade, as it introduces that book's main setting and many of the important side characters that pop up in that one. I'd recommend reading it before bk 7 to enrich your experience with the main novel.
Special props to the story Ironclads, which I felt was particularly compelling on its own and also provides important context for Varmen in bk 7 that adds a lot of heft to his character there.
This is really only for veteran readers of Shadows of the Apt due to all the worldbuilding that wouldn't make sense to readers coming to this first before any of the novels, even though all the stories are set chronologically before the start of the series. It's best read as a companion book to bk 7 Heirs of the Blade, as it introduces that book's main setting and many of the important side characters that pop up in that one. I'd recommend reading it before bk 7 to enrich your experience with the main novel.
Special props to the story Ironclads, which I felt was particularly compelling on its own and also provides important context for Varmen in bk 7 that adds a lot of heft to his character there.